Māui-tinei-ahi can be translated as Māui-the-extinguisher-of-fire. The programme is designed specifically for delivery in kura kaupapa Māori, and most bi-lingual classrooms.

The Māui-tinei-ahi classroom resource kit contains similar resources to Get Firewise for year 1 and 2, however it is not a direct translation of Get Firewise. 

Although it has the same fire safety outcomes (awareness of fire danger, what to do in a fire, not playing with lighters or matches), the Māui-tinei-ahi resources reflect Māori ethos and link to Te Marautanga o Aotearoa | The New Zealand Curriculum (2008) (external link) and Te Aho Matua (external link). 

The programme was developed by kaiako (teachers), kaiāwhina (guides), Fire and Emergency's Pou Takawaenga Māori (Māori Liaison Team), firefighters, and other educators.

It is delivered by kaiako, followed by a presentation from firefighters, Pou Takawaenga Māori and Community Risk teams, in te reo Māori.

Māui-tinei-ahi is a flexible programme and can be used as a short-term topic using literacy and topic time over two or three weeks. It can also be used as a whole term topic using an inquiry learning approach. 

The Māui-tinei-ahi programme reflects our commitment to working with Māori as tangata whenua and recognises the important role they play in fire prevention, building community resilience and informing emergency responses across the motu.

If you have any questions about the Māui-tinei-ahi programme, contact our team at māori@fireandemergency.nz.

Māui-tinei-ahi programme is focused on ensuring students: 

• understand that fire can be dangerous
• can show they know how to prevent fires starting
• can show they know how to get themselves out of a burning building quickly and safely to a safe meeting place.

These outcomes can be achieved through completion of the activities, provided below.

Kaiako may choose to use one or more of these simple activities to assess their class against each outcome. You may choose to use the same or different activities for diagnostic and summative assessment. 

While the Māui-tinei-ahi programme is designed to be delivered solely by kaiako, the firefighter visit is a structured presentation to the class that summarises and reinforces the key learning in the Māui-tinei-ahi programme.

It is delivered by Fire and Emergency and is usually about 30 to 45 minutes long. A firefighter presentation supports, but is not a substitute for, the learning programme. Students must have completed the Māui-tinei-ahi programme before a firefighter can visit.

The presentation is designed around gaining responses from students and must be delivered to one class at a time to be effective.

The firefighters will not deliver presentations to groups of classes because the students’ retention of safety behaviours is compromised. 

You may request a firefighter visit through your local station or via this contact form.